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May312007
Demystifying the Mythological Wonder Drink
India’s association with drugs surely goes far beyond the rave parties in Pune.
The Aryan priests who wrote the Rig Veda (subject to historical inferences and inaccuracies) offer several references and poetic allusions to ‘Soma’, as a juice of a plant which ‘transports them into light’ and gave them ‘immortality’. These hymns are sung and revered even today all over the country though the actual composition of Soma and the method of preparation always remained a mystery and the scholars and priests who chanted these hymns remained disinterested in the physical identity of Soma.
Various Western scholars have tried to associate ‘soma’ with everything from alcohol to marijuana without being able to give a reasonably sound scientific basis. Of all the theories proposed, Robert Gordon Wassons (described as an ‘amateur researcher and banker’) observation is the most debated if not considered the most plausible of all.
“As I entered into the extraordinary world of the Rig Veda, a suspicion gradually came over me, a suspicion that grew into a conviction: I recognized the plant that had enraptured the poets. For this purpose the text of the hymns, the epithets and tropes pertaining to the plant, are abundantly clear. As I went on to the end, as I immersed myself ever deeper into the world of Vedic mythology, further evidence seeming to support my idea kept accumulating. By Jove, I said, this is familiar territory!”
The familiar territory that he speaks about is Amanita Muscaria, otherwise known as the ‘magic mushroom’ which got Wasson interested, after documenting his research on the influence ofsacred mushrooms in South America. These mushrooms apparently grow only at great heights in the mountains (8000ft – 16,000ft) and produce a yellow juice when crushed. It also has a property that in the end made Wasson’ theory controversial and questioned the credibility of the theory. The urine of the person who drinks this juice also has psychoactive effects and Wassons’s effort of associating this with references to acts of urinating in the Rig Veda found few takers.
What would seem logical is the possibility that the Indo-Aryans who experienced soma as a physical entity in the high passes of Afghanistan around 3500 years ago wrote about the celestial drink but it remained out of reach after they moved back to India. Hence ‘soma’ evolved into a ritualistic element, its physical attributes largely ignored and eventually gained the status of a ‘heavenly drink’.
The views expressed in this post are those of the writer and are not necessarily endorsed by Mutiny.in
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Nik
001
9:27 am
Interesting post… I always assumed Soma had something to do with opium!
arvind mishra
002
6:11 pm
In ATHARV VEDA it is very very explicitly mentioned “you have been dug out by pigs…”As many mushroom verities are still searched and dug out by pigs there is very strong indication that soma would have been some mushroom variety only.
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003
8:12 pm
online soma buying online soma com
Diesel
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8:05 pm
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